Canon Cameras - Page 8 - Recent Questions, Troubleshooting & Support

Possible that the mic within the camera is bad or there is obstruction to the mic. Please check and clean any dirt , place the camera and shoot without holding to confirm if the sound is better or not.

i dont think this will help but i have a kodak digital camera and when i do video i get no sound when i play it back. if you plug it into computer to download pics and video there will be sound with the video. thats how mine works anyway.. good luck..

Check your settings in the menus. If you've muted the camera to remove the other sounds, it will mute the video soundtrack as well.

clean the lens,get it serviced the lens as well as CCD.

I bought a new damn camera.

On the 5D error code 30 appears to be shutter related and general advice is to get a professional repair or send it back to Canon.

H264 is a "mov." file. Windows media player11 and Power DVD 9 do not support this type of file. If you don't like QuickTime, there are many free media players that will support it (VLC is a good one). You could convert the mov. file to an avi. file with a video converter program. Then your avi. format movie will play in WMP

The current firmware is version 2.1.2. Use this link to get to the Canon download page. Scroll all the way down to “Drivers and Downloads”. Select “Firmware” and then the appropriate version for Windows or Mac.

https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/support/details/cameras/support-dslr/eos-5d-mark-ii?subtab=downloads-firmware

The date/time cannot be deleted once it is embedded in the image. To turn off the date/time deselect the date/time stamping by following procedure:
These instructions explain how to insert the date in images.
attention:

• The [Date Stamp] cannot be deleted from the image data once it has been recorded because the date is written in as an image.
• When selecting [Date Stamp] , [Recording Pixels] is set to 1600 x 1200 pixels and the compression (image quality) to [Fine].
• When the shooting mode is set to <Movie> (), settings for inserting the date and time cannot be made.
• The following explanations are provided based on the assumption that the [Shooting Mode] is set to <Program AE> ().

1. Press the <Power> button on the camera.

2. Press the <FUNC./SET> () button.

3. A screen like the one below will appear on the monitor.

Select [Date Stamp] () in the [Recording Pixels] section .
Press the <MENU> () button.


4. A screen like the one below will appear on the monitor.

Operate the <directional buttons> left or right to select [Date Stamp] and set it to [Date] or [Date & Time].
Press the <MENU> () button.


5. Press the <FUNC./SET> () button.

6. Make sure that the [Date Stamp] is set and the following screen will appear with the icon () in the lower-left corner of the screen.

7. When shooting with this setting, the date will be embedded in the image as shown below.

[Date]
[Date & Time]
warning: The date, its font and color, and the position where it is displayed cannot be changed. Also, dates and times recorded with [Date Stamp] cannot be deleted.


If you need a manual for the A480, you can download it from:

http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/controller?act=ModelInfoAct&tabact=DownloadDetailTabAct&fcategoryid=320&modelid=18155

Please rate this solution. Thanks.

look into the camera with a bright light and see if any pins are bent where the memory card goes in. also check to see if the card is unlocked and check the card to see if it works in another device.

First, to answer your lens question, 400mm is unlikely to be adequate. On a digital camera this is going to give only 6x magnification. Some nature subjects will require much more than that.

Also, do not need a fully featured 'pro' camera. These have features which you may not want. Look at lenses first, and let that dictate the camera.

It rather depends on your intended subject matter, but in general for nature photography (I presume you are thinking of vertebrate animals, rather than plants or insects.) you require very long focal length lenses. This is because wild animals are very difficult to approach, and many are comparatively small as well. As an example, you may only be able to get within 30ft of a heron however well you are hidden, and for a bird that size at that distance a 400mm lens will just be big enough. Just.

As a rule you want to fill the frame. So to work out what focal length you need you need to work out the size of the image in the camera. This is not difficult to work out, as the magnification is only the ratio of the subject to lens distance to the (Thoeretical) film/sensor to lens distance. (Most long lenses are physically shorter than their theoretical focal length. That's the true origin of the word 'telephoto', the lens is optically 'telescoped' into a shorter package.)

In reality this varies a little as the lens moves in and out to focus it, but in practice you just use the focal length of the lens. So for out Heron which is about 10,000mm away with a 400mm lens the magnification is 400/10,000 = 4/100 =.04. A heron is about .5m tall (18inches roughly), and 500mm x 0.05 = 20mm. The hieght of a digital sensor is about 16mm, so that's full height, but a heron is a tall bird, so portrait mode might be better, and that will be closer to 24mm.

So in our example, a 400mm lens will do but only for an animal half a meter in size, if you can get thirty feet away. And that's pushing your luck. (The nearest I ever got to a heron without sitting all day in a hide hoping for it to show was twice that distance!)

Most subjects will be smaller, or further away. Getting within 150ft of a deer in clear view is quite a challenge even for an expert stalker. At 1.5m tall with a 400mm lens, the image will be 12mm high. If the subject is a grizzly bear, then I doubt you would want to be that close.

Of course if you are wanting to photograph smaller animals, then the problem is compounded. Especially if they are easily spooked.

In essence you want as long a lens as you can manage, so you can photograph from a comfortable (for the amimal) and safe (grizzly bear) distance. However, as in many instances you won't be able to control that, and the range of animals you want to photograph will vary in size, you really want either more than one lens, or a really good zoom.

Really good zooms of long focal length are very expensive, so two lenses might be a better option, or a long lens with a factory matched multiplier would be almost as good. (Zoom lenses cannot perform at optimum over all the focal lengths available, so really good ones are difficult to design and make.)

So you first need to decide what focal lengths you need.

Then you have to consider camera shake. As a rule of thumb you need an absolute minumum shutter speed of 1/(focal length in mm) for hand-held shots. As you will be using long lenses, with small apertures, you won't be able to take shots hand held.

One (partial) solution is to use an image stabilized or shake reduced system.

Image stabilization is built into the lens, and works by moving optical elements to compensate for vibrations. This makes the lenses much more expensive, and will eat batteries. This has the advantage that it is always optimal for the lens.

Shake reduction moves the sensor in the camera, to achieve the same effect. It makes the camera a little more expensive, but the lenses are a lot cheaper, and that's where most of your money will go!

(Note, that digital image shake compensation is not the same thing, and reduces the image sharpness.)

Of course the traditional solution is a really sturdy tripod. Most tripods are simply not up to the job, so you need to check out as many reviews as you can. But be aware a really good tripod will not be cheap.

The camera mount must be really rigid if the camera is not to move during exposure (A camera with a mirror-up function can help. The mirror is the Major source of vibration in a camera, this allows the mirror to flip well before the shutter fires allowing time for vibration to die away.) and the tripod itself must not flex or twist.

A tripod with the means of suspending a weight underneath is useful, extra weight will make sure the tripod feet are firmly placed and help pre-stress the tripod so any residual 'slack' is taken up. (A simple hook that you can hang a kit-bag on will suffice!)

A good tripod and head could cost £200 or more alone!

As for selecting the lenses....

Canon do some very long focal length lenses but they are also very expensive (£2000+) These include a zoom with image stabilization, and a dedicated multiplier to double the range. A good used example will cost over £1000.

However, you should be aware that Canon are generally quite expensive, and other manufacturers produce similar systems, at various prices. I would look at Nikon, and Pentax, these brands are still well regarded.

Hi.

Test using a different battery. When it does like that it is often the battery shorted inside. If the problem occurs using a known-good battery, then the contacts in the battery slots or the circuits behind the contacts have a short. When there is no battery the shorted wires or contacts are not "hot" and the short does not prevent the camera from starting.
If the problem is not the battery the camera must be disassembled. In that case disassembling will start from the screws on right hand side (watching from front), then screws in front, then left and back. Unless you have done similar repairs before it is advisable not attempting to disassemble the camera. The camera is very easy to damage. There are springs, wires and tricky parts near to shutter button on top, selector wheel and strap holder. If problem is camera and not the battery you can get a good quote on repair here:Repair.

Regards.

Ginko

Try some photo recovery software to rescue the files on your digital camera memory card, here are some for your options.

Photo Recovery (for Windows)
Photo Recovery for Mac

Be careful: Before your pictures are recovered, do not attempt to save more files to the card in case the original files(your pictures) are overwritten.

You can connect camera's memory card to computer, then download this picture recovery program which is outstanding among all picture recovery software.http://www.001-software.com/picture-recovery/

The camera is trying to process information to or from the memory card. If the status does not change after a few minutes, you may have a damaged memory card. Turn the camera off. Remove the memory card and inspect it. Reinsert the memory card. Can you view photos on the LCD by pressing the arrow button? If so reconnect to your computer. If not, you most likely have a damaged memory card. Try inserting the memory card into a card reader connected directly to your computer. This may be able to still read the card when your camera cannot.

Fixing a Lens Error on a Digital Camera

This has to be THE most common failure mode for a digital camera. Some common error messages that might show up on the LCD's of cameras with this problem include “E18 lens error”, or “lens error, restart camera”. Some cameras might show nothing at all, but merely make a beeping noise as the lens goes out, then in, then the camera shuts off. Sometimes the lens won't even move.
The problem is actually quite common throughout all camera brands. Usually it's sand or grit interfering with the lens extension mechanism. Or the camera's been dropped with the lens extended. Or the camera has been powered on, but the lens had been blocked preventing its extension. Or the battery ran down with the lens extended. Believe it or not, one BIG contributor to lens errors is using a camera case. Sand, gunk, case fibers, etc... accumulate at the bottom of the case. These materials love to cling to the camera by electrostatic build-up from the camera rubbing against the side of the case (especially those cases with soft fibrous intreriors). Once these materials work their way into the lens mechanism, that's all she wrote. I have many Canon's, and NEVER use a case for this very reason.
A camera owner that suffers this problem may have no recourse for having the camera repaired. Many camera makers will not honor repairing this problem under warranty as they claim it is due to impact damage to the camera, or sand or debris getting into the lens gearing mechanism (neither of which is covered under warranty). The quoted repair cost is usually close to or more than what the camera is actually worth.
Fortunately, about half the cameras that suffer this failure can easily be fixed by one of the following methods. None of these methods involve opening the camera, although some have potential to cause other damage to the camera if excessively done. If the camera is still under warranty, before trying any of these, please please first contact your camera's maker to see if they'll cover the repair, or to determine how much they'll charge for the repair. Who knows, you might get lucky. But if they quote you a number that's higher than the value of your camera, you may want to consider the following methods.
The methods are listed in the order of risk of damaging your camera. Thus make sure you try them in the listed order. And remember, these fixes (especially #6 and 7) should only be considered for a camera that's out of warranty, who's cost of repair would be excessive, and would otherwise be considered for disposal if unrepaired:
Fix #1: Remove the batteries from the camera, wait a few minutes. Put a fresh set of batteries back in (preferably rechargeable NiMH 2500mah or better) and turn the camera on. If that didn't work, try pressing and holding the Function or OK button while turning the camera on.
Fix #2: Remove the batteries, then remove the memory card. Then install new batteries, and turn on the camera. If you get an Error E30, it means you don't have a memory card installed, so turn it off, slip in the memory card and turn it on one last time.
Fix #3: Insert the cameras Audio/Video (AV) cable, and turn the camera on. Inserting this cable ensures that the camera's LCD screen remains off during the start process. Thus extra battery power is available to the camera's lens motor during startup. This extra power can be useful in overcoming grit or sand particals that may be jamming the lens. If the AV cable doesn't fix the lens error by itself, consider keeping this cable installed while trying fixes 4, 5, and 7 as a means to provide extra help to these fixes. But note that I DON'T recommend keeping the cable installed during Fix 6 as you may damage the AV port while tapping the camera. Reinsert the cable only AFTER tapping the camera.
Fix #4: Place the camera flat on its back on a table, pointed at the ceiling. Press and hold the shutter button down, and at the same time press the power-on button. The idea is that the camera will try to autofocus while the lens is extending, hopefully seating the lens barrel guide pins in their slots.
Fix #5: Blow compressed air in the gaps around the lens barrels with the idea of blowing out any sand or grit that may be in there jamming the lens. Other variations include blowing with a hair dryer in “no heat” setting, or sucking the gaps with a vacuum (careful with this one).
Now we're entering into the realm of potentially damaging your camera in conducting the fix. There is definitely some risk here, so take care when conducting the following two fixes.
Fix #6: Repeatedly tap the padded/rubber usb cover on a hard surface with the intent of dislodging any particles that may be jamming the lens. Other variations include hitting a side of the camera against the palm of your hand. A lot of people have reported success with this method. HOWEVER, there is also some potential for damaging or dislodging internal components with this method, such as unseating ribbon cables, or cracking LCD screens.
Fix #7: Try forcing the lens. More people have reported success with this method than with any of the other methods. HOWEVER, there's obviously some potential for damaging your camera by using this method. Variations include gently pulling, rotating, and/or twisting the lens barrel while hitting the power button. Attempt to gently straighten or align the barrel if it's crooked or twisted. Another variation includes looking for uneven gaps around the lens barrel, and then pushing on the side of the lens barrel that has the largest gap (note pushing the lens barrel all the way in is NOT recommended as it may become stuck there). While doing any of the above, listen for a click that indicates that the lens barrel guide pins may have reseated in their guide slots. If you hear this click, immediately stop and try the camera.

Check to see if the battery had a charge.

use a card reader to retrieve the video The camera uses a standard SD card

Have you looked in the manual ?

Does the auto exposure go down to 30 secs? If you are getting 30 secs on B mode then the self timer will not work. Set the camera to full auto and then from the menu select self timer, you should have 2 options 2 sec and 10 sec. Then press the shutter